'My master said to me one day, he was surprized that I did not learn to write my own letters, and added, that he was sure that I could learn to do it in a very short time. ... Without any delay I set about it, by taking up pieces of paper that had any writing on them, and initiating the letters as well as I could. I employed my leisure hours in this way for near two months, after which time I wrote my own letters, in a bad hand, you may be sure; but it was plain and easy to read, which was all I cared for.'